Nürburgring - Race 1On home soil, Josef Kaufmann Racing recorded their first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 victory this afternoon. The German team only joined the category at the start of the season. Robin Frijns brought home the glory having led from start to finish, and held off the relentless challenge of Carlos Sainz Junior (Koiranen Motorsport) and Norman Nato (R-Ace Grand Prix). With the win, Dutch driver Frijns is now finds himself back in the race for the title. But with five podium finishes out of five, Carlos Sainz Jr. remains comfortably seated at the top of the overall standings.For the third time this season, it was Will Stevens of Fortec Motorsports who started the race in pole. The British driver edged Norman Nato as the best performer in group B, and lined up on the front row alongside Robin Frijns. Miki Weckstrom (Tech 1 Racing) and Alex Riberas (Epic Racing) both went off during qualifying, but their teams managed to repair their cars in time for them to line up for the start of the race.As the lights went out, Frijns got away the quickest to lead the race in the early stages. Carlos Sainz Jr. made a good start from the second row, as did Norman Nato. At the end of the first lap, Frijns led the race with Nato, Sainz Jr., Will Stevens and Timmy Hansen (Interwetten.com Junior) following close behind.With Frijns gradually extending his advantage out in front, Sainz Jr. set about attacking Norman Nato. The Frenchman put up a bold fight, but he eventually succumbed to Sainz Jr. who overtook on lap four. The Spanish driver then upped the tempo and began to set his sights on race leader Frijns. Meanwhile, Nato was left to keep a wary eye on a chasing pack made up of Stevens, Hansen, Oscar Andrs Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing), Daniil Kvyat (Koiranen Motorsport), Paul-Loup Chatin (Tech 1 Racing) and Javier Tarancon (Tech 1 Racing).Shortly after the half-way stage, Sainz Jr. launched his first assault on race leader Frijns. As the front pair battled it out, Nato was able to make up ground and the chasing pack also fought their way back into contention. It was wheel-to-wheel stuff as the first nine cars jostled for position in the last ten minutes of the race.At this stage, Sainz Jr. and Nato really began to turn up the heat on Frijns, but the flying Dutchman managed to keep the door firmly shut. Frijns held strong to take his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 victory, with Sainz Jr. and Nato enjoying his first podium finish completing the top three. Sainz Jr. retains his place at the top of the overall standings and has an 18-point lead over Frijns, who moves up into second.What they said:

Robin Frijns: I took advantage of the battles going on behind me to build a bit of a lead early in the race. But as soon as he got up into second, Carlos came back very strongly. I made a few small mistakes, which helped his cause. He was quicker, but I managed to hold my position. Im happy to reward my team with a first win here. But well have to carry on working tonight to make sure we race even quicker.

Carlos Sainz Jr.: It was a very hard-fought race, and I took a few risks to get past Norman Nato. After that, I tried everything to overcome Robin but he handled it extremely well. In the end, second place is a good result, especially with Will Stevens finishing down in 4th. Well have to be even quicker in qualifying tomorrow.

Norman Nato: Its my first podium in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and its also a first podium for R-Ace Grand Prix. Were really happy with this result and it proves that were growing in stature.